CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No.CN201510561544.X filed on September 7, 2015 in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an assembly system and an assembly method adapted to insert a terminal into a housing, more particularly, relates to a programmable automatic assembly system and a programmable automatic assembly method adapted to insert a terminal into a housing by means of a robot mechanism.

Description of the Related Art

Because a robot(s) may rapidly and accurately realize the assembly of micro parts, in the prior art, the assembly of a product is usually completed by use of a plurality of serial robots. For example, by the cooperation of two serial robots, a terminal may be inserted into a housing to form an electrical device, for example, a connector.

In the prior art, in order to insert a first member into a second member by use of two serial robots, firstly, a first serial robot grips the first member, a second serial robot grips the second member; then, the first serial robot moves the first member relative to the second serial robot, so as to insert the first member into the second member. This assembly solution has no problem in a case where an insertion force required for inserting the first member into the second member is small. However, since the serial robot has low rigid and cannot bear a large operation force, if the insertion force required for inserting the first member into the second member is large, the position accuracy of the serial robot is difficult to control, which may reduce the assembly precision. For example, in a case where a terminal is inserted into a housing in an interference fitting manner, a large insertion force is required. In this case, if the large insertion force is directly exerted on end effectors of the two serial robots, the two serial robots will not be able to reliably maintain the relative position between the terminal and the housing, which will reduce the assembly precision of the terminal in the housing. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to overcome or alleviate at least one aspect of the above mentioned disadvantages.

According to an object of the present invention, there is provided an assembly system and an assembly method that may insert a terminal into a housing with high precision.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assembly system, adapted to insert a terminal into a housing, comprising: a parallel robot mechanism having a support platform on which the housing is held; a serial robot mechanism having an end effector, wherein the end effector is connected to the support platform, so as to drive the parallel robot mechanism to move; and an insertion mechanism configured to insert the terminal into the housing held on the support platform. The parallel robot mechanism is moved by the serial robot mechanism until an insertion hole in the housing is aligned with the terminal to be inserted before inserting the terminal into the housing. The parallel robot mechanism and the support platform are kept stationary by locking at least a part of joints of the parallel robot mechanism during inserting the terminal into the housing.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the parallel robot mechanism has multiple degrees of freedom.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the parallel robot mechanism is configured to be movable in at least one of a first direction, a second direction and a third direction that are perpendicular to each other.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the parallel robot mechanism is further configured to be rotatable about at least one of the first direction, the second direction and the third direction.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the serial robot mechanism has multiple degrees of freedom.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the serial robot mechanism is configured to be a multi-axis robot.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the assembly system further comprises: a transmission mechanism adapted to transmit a terminal material strip to the insertion mechanism; and a cutting mechanism adapted to cut the terminal out of the terminal material strip, which is transmitted to the insertion mechanism.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the insertion mechanism comprises a manipulator adapted to grip the terminal cut out of the terminal material strip and insert the gripped terminal into the insertion hole of the housing.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the insertion mechanism comprises: a fixture adapted to clamp the terminal to be inserted; and a moving mechanism adapted to insert the clamped terminal into the insertion hole of the housing. According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the insertion mechanism comprises an injection mechanism adapted to inject the terminal into the insertion hole of the housing.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling a terminal into a housing, comprising steps of:

S100: providing the assembly system as mentioned in any one of above embodiments;

S200: holding the housing on the support platform of the parallel robot mechanism;

S300: holding the terminal to be inserted on the insertion mechanism;

S400: moving the parallel robot mechanism by the serial robot mechanism until the insertion hole in the housing is aligned with the terminal to be inserted;

S500: locking at least a part of joints of the parallel robot mechanism, so that the parallel robot mechanism and the support platform are kept stationary; and

S600: inserting the terminal into the insertion hole of the housing by means of the insertion mechanism.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of terminals are to be inserted into respective insertion holes of the housing, and the method further comprises steps of:

S700: unlocking the at least a part of joints of the parallel robot mechanism, so that the parallel robot mechanism and the support platform are movable; and

S800: repeating the steps S300 to S700 until the plurality of terminals are inserted into the housing.

In the above various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the parallel robot mechanism and the support platform are kept stationary by locking at least a part of joints of the parallel robot mechanism during inserting the terminal into the housing. Thereby, an insertion force required for inserting the terminal into the housing is completely exerted on and then borne by the parallel robot mechanism with high rigid, without being exerted on the serial robot mechanism with low rigid. Thereby, it ensures the position accuracy of the serial robot mechanism. Since the parallel robot mechanism has high rigid and may bear large operation force, even if the insertion force required for inserting the terminal into the housing is very large, the position accuracy of the parallel robot mechanism will not be negative effected, improving the assembly precision of the terminal in the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.l is an illustrative principle view of an assembly system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE IVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed

embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.

According to a general concept of the present invention, there is provided an assembly system, adapted to insert a terminal into a housing, comprising: a parallel robot mechanism having a support platform on which the housing is held; a serial robot mechanism having an end effector mounted thereon, wherein the end effector is connected to the support platform, so as to drive the parallel robot mechanism to move; and an insertion mechanism configured to insert the terminal into the housing held on the support platform, wherein the parallel robot mechanism is moved by the serial robot mechanism until an insertion hole in the housing is aligned to the terminal to be inserted before inserting the terminal into the housing, and wherein the parallel robot mechanism and the support platform are kept stationary by locking at least a part of joints of the parallel robot mechanism during inserting the terminal into the housing.

Fig.l is an illustrative view of an assembly system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Fig.l, the assembly system is adapted to insert a terminal 20 into a housing 10 to form an electrical device. For example, during assembling a connector, there is a need to insert a metal terminal into an insulation housing.

As shown in Fig.1 in an embodiment, the assembly system mainly comprises a parallel robot mechanism 100, a serial robot mechanism 200 and an insertion mechanism 300.

As shown in Fig. l in an embodiment, the parallel robot mechanism 100 has a support platform 110. The housing 10 is fixed and held on the support platform 110. In this way, the housing 10 may be moved with the support platform 110. An end effector 210 is mounted on the serial robot mechanism 200. The end effector 210 is connected to the support platform 110, so as to drive the parallel robot mechanism 100 to move. The insertion mechanism 300 is configured to insert the terminal 20 into the housing 10 held on the support platform 110.

In an embodiment, the parallel robot mechanism 100 is moved by the serial robot mechanism 200 until an insertion hole (not shown) in the housing 10 is aligned with the terminal 20 to be inserted before inserting the terminal 20 into the housing 10. The parallel robot mechanism 100 and the support platform 110 are kept stationary by locking at least a part of joints 101 of the parallel robot mechanism 100 during inserting the terminal 20 into the housing 10. In this way, an insertion force required for inserting the terminal 20 into the housing 10 is completely exerted on and then borne by the parallel robot mechanism 100 with high rigid, other than exerted on the serial robot mechanism 200 with low rigid. Thereby, it ensures the position accuracy of the serial robot mechanism 200, improving the assembly precision of the terminal 20 in the housing.

In an embodiment, the parallel robot mechanism 100 may have multiple degrees of freedom.

In an embodiment, as shown in Fig. l, the parallel robot mechanism 100 is configured to be movable in at least one of a first direction X, a second direction Y and a third direction Z that are perpendicular to each other.

In an embodiment, as shown in Fig.l, the parallel robot mechanism 100 is further configured to be rotatable about at least one of the first direction X, the second direction Y and the third direction Z.

In an embodiment, the serial robot mechanism 200 may have multiple degrees of freedom.

In an embodiment, as shown in Fig. l, the serial robot mechanism 200 is configured to be a multi-axis robot. In the illustrated embodiment, the serial robot mechanism 200 is a six-axis robot. But the present invention is not limited to this, the serial robot mechanism may be a four-axis or five-axis robot.

In an embodiment, as shown in Fig. l, the assembly system may further comprises a transmission mechanism (not shown) and a cutting mechanism (not shown). The transmission mechanism is adapted to transmit a terminal material strip 21 to the insertion mechanism 300. The cutting mechanism is adapted to cut the terminal 20 out of the terminal material strip 21, which has been transmitted to the insertion mechanism 300.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the insertion mechanism 300 may comprise a manipulator adapted to grip the terminal 20 cut out of the terminal material strip 21 and insert the gripped terminal 20 into the insertion hole of the housing 10.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the insertion mechanism 300 may comprise a fixture and a moving mechanism. The fixture is adapted to clamp the terminal 20 to be inserted. The moving mechanism is adapted to insert the clamped terminal 20 into the insertion hole of the housing 10.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the insertion mechanism 300 may comprise an injection mechanism adapted to inject the terminal 20 into the insertion hole of the housing 10.

Although it has described several different insertion mechanisms, the present invention is not limited to this, the insertion mechanism may be any one of insertion mechanisms adapted to insert the terminal into the housing in the prior art, for example, the insertion mechanism may be a multi-axis robot.

Hereafter, it will describe in detail a process of inserting the terminal 20 into the housing 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention with reference to Fig. l.

Firstly, as shown in Fig. l, the housing 10 is mounted and held on the support platform

110 of the parallel robot mechanism 100. In an embodiment, the housing 10 may be directly fixed on the support platform 110 or fixed by a fixture mounted on the support platform 110.

Then, the terminal material strip 21 is fed to the insertion mechanism 300 by the transmission mechanism (not shown).

Then, the terminal 20 is cut out of the terminal material strip 21 by the cutting mechanism (not shown).

Then, the cut terminal 20 is held to be inserted on the insertion mechanism 300.

Then, the parallel robot mechanism 100 is driven to move by the serial robot mechanism 200 until the insertion hole in the housing 10 is aligned with the terminal 20 to be inserted.

Then, at least a part of joints 101 (for example, all active joints) of the parallel robot mechanism 100 is locked, so that the parallel robot mechanism 100 and the support platform 110 are kept stationary.

Then, the terminal 20 is inserted into the insertion hole of the housing 10 by means of the insertion mechanism 300.

In this way, the operation of inserting the terminal 20 into the housing 10 is finished.

In an embodiment, it needs to insert a plurality of terminals 20 into respective insertion holes of the housing 10. In this case, after the first terminal 20 is inserted into the housing 10, it needs to unlock the at least a part of joints 101 of the parallel robot mechanism 100, so that the parallel robot mechanism 100 and the support platform 110 are movable again. Then, the above process may be repeated until the plurality of terminals 20 are inserted into the housing 10.

It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrated, and not restrictive. For example, many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in this art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined with each other without conflicting in configuration or principle.

Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

As used herein, an element recited in the singular and proceeded with the word "a" or "an" should be understood as not excluding plural of said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated. Furthermore, references to "one embodiment" of the present invention are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments "comprising" or "having" an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional such elements not having that property.